Automatically-feeding furnace



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- B. D. GHILDREY. y AUTOMATIGALLY FEEDING FURNAGES.

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B. D. GHILDREY. ATMATIGALLY FEEDING FRNAGES.` l No. 574,190. Patented Deo. 29, 1896.

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No. 574,190. Patented 1190.29, 1899.

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ATOMATIGALLY FEEDING FURNAES. No. 574,190.

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, AUTGMATIGALLY FBEDING FURNABS.

No. 574,190. Patented Dec. 29,1896.

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Patented Dec. 29, 1896.

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Patentd Deo. 29, 1896.

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B. D. GHILDREY. AUTOMATIGALLY PBEDING FURNAGBS.

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A'ilNrrEDi STATES yWENT FFICE..

AUTOMATlCALLY-FEEDING FU RNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 574,190, dated December 29, 1896.

Application filed 29, 1896. slerial No. 593,638. (No model.)

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Be it. known that I, BENJAMIN D. CHILDREY, a citien of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automat.- ically-Feeding Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to anew and useful improvement in furnaces for the combustion of coa-hand especially to appliances connected therewith for feeding the fuel to the [ire-box, removing the base products of combustion, such as clinkers and ashes, and providing for the feeding of the proper amount of oxygen to the fuel within the fire-box.

Heretofore great waste of the heat-u nits contained in the coal has been occasioned by the irregularity with which the fuel is fed to the fire and the fact that fresh fuel is fed upon the top of the incandescent mass in the fireboX, thus retarding the heat which should be transmitted to the surfaces to be heated and permitting a large quantity of volatile gases to pass off without being consu med also, from the fact that the hottest portion of the fire is 'next the grate, which tends to injure the latter instead of accomplishing useful work by raising the temperature of the surfaces to be heated,and from other well-recognized causes.

The object of my invention is to overcome these disadvantages and to so construct a furnace and mechanisms connected therewith as to maintain a mass of green fuel under the fire, in order that the volatile gases may pass oif before that portion of the fuel reaches the incandescent state, whereby every portion of the fuel reaches the line of incandescence in a more or less semicoked state.

By my construction the combined action of the grate-bars,the elevating effect of the buckets, the draft, and the specific gravity of the fuel and ash, the surface of the fire can be maintained continuously ata-ny desired angle from a horizontal plane to that of an incline of forty-five or fifty degrees; that is, at such an angle or incline that the ashes will roll or slide from the upper surface of the fire as soon as they form or are taken off by the draft. This arrangement presents the most favorable position of the fire to gain adequate dilution or saturation of oxygen from the air, as it lies close to the surface of the incandescent mass in passing through the combustion-chamber. This arrangement also gives the most favorable conditions in which perfect combustion is engendered and made constant.

Another object of my invention is that to the lowest point downward into the mass of green fuel, to which the heat from the superincurnbent fire penetrates, the hydrocarbons are first liberated and are forced to pass through the incandescent mass, becoming therefrom intensely heated, and as soon as they receive their equivalents of oxygen are perfectly combusted. The water that more or less forms as an element in the coal is slowly or gradually raised in vtemperature as it is gradually elevated toward the incandescent line, and in passing through the incandescent mass becomes thoroughly disintegrated into its constituent elements-hydrogen and oxygen. Thus the possibility of the formation of water-gas is obviated, as well as that of smoke.

By my arrangement of automatically feeding the lire with exactitude and by regulating the amount of air to a nicety any degree of heat within the capacity of the furnace can be generated and made constant, thus obviating the fluctuations of temperature that are constantly taking place bythe present. mode of fuel-feeding, thereby gaining a more regular tiow of steam and the consequent uniform degree of engine-power. Undersuch uniform conditions the wear and tear to both engine and boiler are reduced to a minimum.

With these ends in view my in vention consists in the details of construction and com- -bination of elements hereinafter set forth, and

then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art` to which'this invention appertaius may understandhow to make and use the same, I will describe its construction and operation in detail, referring by number to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a furnace for generating steam, showing my improvements applied thereto; Fig. 2, a section at the line a u of Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 2 is a section at the line t t ot' Fig. 3; Fig. 3, a horizontal section taken at fo rt of Fig. 2, looking downward ,I

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Fig. t, an enlarged diagrammatical view of the tracks for guiding the travel of the bucle ets, whereby they are caused to close and open in conveying the fuel from the chute to the tire-box; Fig. an enlarged cross-section of the tracks upon one side of the buckets; Fig. ti, a detailed central section of a portion ofthe buckets, illustrating the manner of their formation and operation; Fig. 7, a detailed scction showing the arrangement of the gears for eansin g the side gratebars to more in unison with each other; Fig. S, a detailed elevation of a portion of these bars, the bearing being broken away so as to show the manner in which they are journaled, and also illustrat ing the means by which they are oseillated; Fig. 9, a horizontal section of the front gratebars, showing the rack-bar and eccentric for oscillating` these grate-bars. Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section of a modification of my invention, taken through the center of the travcling buckets and their mechanisms, showing the adaptation of my improvement to a locon'iotive-boiler; Fig. 11., a horizontal section of the tire-boxY of such a. boiler, showing the relative position ofthe several lilies of feed-buckets; Fig. 1 2, a cross-section of the lower portion of said :lire-box, taken at the line x c of Fig. 11; Fig. 13, a cross-section taken at the line y y of Fig. 11; Fig. 1t, a longitudinal section taken at the line ,e 5 of Fig. 11; Fig. 15, an enlarged detail of a modified form of feedbucket in its closed position; Fig. 1G, a lon gitudinal section of said bucket in its open position; Fig. 17, a detailed section of the stokers, showing the manner in which one of the sticking-rods may be connected to or disconnected from said stokers; Fig. 18, a diagram showing the relative position of the upper and lower tracks for guiding the upper and lower portion of the buckets from the sprocketedruin for the purpose of closing said buckets in order that they may be capable of conveying fuel from the chute tothe tire-box; and Fig. 1) a detailed section of the lower portion of the chtite shown in Fig. 10, illustrating the arrangen'ient of the roll for assisting the feeding ot' the fuel from the chute.

In applying my invention, as shown in Figs. 1 to il, inclusive, the construction is as fol- "1" represents th; casing or walls of a tirebox haviegal-ranged therein a grate composed of the side bars 2 and front bars 3, the former of which are so journaled as to stand at an angle to the perpendicular, their lower ends being' nearest the side walls of the firebox, and above these side grate-bars are also arranged stationary grate-bars t.

5 are walls flared outward, which extend lengthwise of the fire-box and serve to t'orin a passage-way through which the feed-buckets t5 are to travel. These buckets are each iliade in two sections and hinged together at the bottom by the rods 7 and are soattached to cach other at their top edges by the rods S as to form'a continuous chain.

In the rear portion of the ash-pit is journaled a shaft D, extending crosswise of said pit and having its bearings in the walls thereof, and 10 is a similar shaft journaled in a suitable framc arranged in front of the furnace, and upon these two shafts are secured the pulleys 11 and 1Q, respectively, two upon each shaft, arranged at a distance apart equal to the width of the bottom of the fire-box and having formed therein notches 13 for the reception of the ends of the cross-rods 7 and S, thus serving as slnoeket-wheels over which the endless chain, composed of the buckets, is adapted to travel.

The shafts t) and 1 0 are geared together by a sprocket-chain 14, passing over pulleys 15 and 1G secured thereon, respectively, in order that these shafts may move in unison, and power is imparted to the shaft 10 by any suitable mechanism, such belt or gear. Upon the outer ends of the rods 8, which serve to pivot the buckets together, are journaled the grooved rolls 17 adapted to travel between the ways 1S, which serve asa track and guide for these rolls during their passage upon the upper side of the chain in its travel, whereby said buckets, at the peint where they are connected one to another, will be prevented from any vertical movement for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

The ways 1S are secured to the lower side walls of the tire-box by rivets, bolts, or otherwise, and each side thereof is preferably made of a casting which also has formed there with the guideways l), which serve as a track for the grooved rolls 20, journaled upon the outer ends of the rods 7, which latter serve to pivot together the two halves of each of the buckets, and these guideways 19 are set in a longitudinal plane outside of the vertical plane of the guideways 18 and curve npward at their two ends, tinally passing into the same longitudinal horizontal plane as the guideways 18, and the object of thisarrangement is to cause the lnaking of the buckets by the closing together of their two sections, as will be next explained.

During t he travel of the buckets around the pulleys 12 in the direction of the arrow they will pass into line with the outer ends of the guideways 1S and 1,9, when the rolls 17 upon the rods S will engage with the ways 1S and be guided thereby in a horizontal line, while the rolls 20 upon the outer ends of the rods 7 will pass into engagement with the ways 19 and be guided thereby down the incline indicated at 2l, and this downward movement will draw the lower ends of the buckets downward while the upper ends thereof are held by the guidance of the rolls 17, by which, when the rods 7 have reached the lower portion of the ways l5), the buckets will be closed, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 to f5, after which they will pass beneath the fire-box, and as no grate-bars are provided for this box it will be seen that the buckets will serve the purpose of such grate-bars.

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At the point where the sections of each bucket are closed, so as to render said bucket capable of holding fuel, the chute 22 is located and provided with an opening 23, which may be regulated by suitable slide-plates 24, so as to feed more or less fuel to said buckets. Thus it will be seen that as the buckets are closed and pass beneath the open end of the chtite fuel will be fed thereto and each bucket successively passed forward under the fireboX, thus carrying with it fuel to supply said box. In order that the fuel thus fed to the fireboX may be elevated therein, thereby bringing it into proper position for combustion, the inner portions of the ways 21 are set upon a gradual incline, as indicated at 25, and when the rolls 2O pass up this incline the buckets will be gradually opened, their lower portion being forced upward, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, until their sides are finally brought into horizontal alinement by the passing of the ways 21 into the same horizontal plane as the ways 18. e

To prevent the fuel, after having once been fed to the tire-box, from being carried therefrom by the rearward movement of the buckets after they have been opened, as just described, I provide a scraper 26, which projects from beneath the beveled rear wall 27 and into such close proximity to the buckets when their sides are in horizontal alinement as to preclude the passage of fuel therebetween.

lVhen the buckets pass beyond the scraper, the rolls 17 and 2O also pass from out of engagement with their respective ways, thereby permitting the free swinging of the sect-ions of the buckets upon the rods 7 and 8, thus permitting the passage of these sections around the pulleys ll in order that they may be returned by the travel of the chain to the opposite end of the gears and again serve to convey fuel from the chtite to the fire-box. From this it will be seen that when motion is imparted to the chain of buckets and a proper supply of fuel delivered thereto through the chtite this fuel will be conveyed to the fireboX and elevated therein, thereby forcing upward the fuel which was previously fed thereto, so that as combustion takes place and the fuel is consumed the baserproducts of this combustion, such as ashes and clinkers, will be gradually elevated as new fuel is supplied to the under side of the burning mass, and these baser products will be removed,as hereinafter set forth.

The tendency of the rearward movement of the buckets, in connection with the scraper, is to elevate the fuel more rapidly at the rear end of lthe fire-box than at the front end thereof, and I therefore make the stationary side grate-bars 4 longer at the rear and gradually shorter as they near the front end of the [ire-box, so that when this elevating process of the fuel takes place the bed of fuel within the fire-box will assume an langle to the horizontal varying with the rapidity of feed and other conditions from a very slight angle to one of forty-five degrees. The angle thus produced upon the surface of the burning mass of fuel has a tendency to cause the ashes and other base products of combustion to slide therefrom, and this tendency, in connection with the drafts hereinafter explained, will at all times maintain a clear and intensely-hot surface for the purposes for which the furnace is designed.

In the passage of the buckets through the fire-box it is essential that their ends be protected, so as to prevent the accumulation of fuel or clinkers between said ends and the side walls of said box, and this I accomplish bylocating the shields 2S so as to form a space 29,through which these ends may travel and be protect-ed from immediate contact with the incandescent mass of fuel within the box.

By the constant feeding and elevation of the fuel to and within the nre-box, as before described, non-combustible material, such as slate and other impurities which tend to form clinkers, will be gradually forced to the sides and front of the lire-box, and it is therefore essential that means be provided for removing said impurities before or after they have been converted into clinkers. This is accomplished by the side grate-bars 2 and front grate-bars 3 being made oscillatory in order that such foreign matter may not accumulate to a degree to be detrimental to the combustion of the fuel; butitis removed byimparting movement to these bars sufficient to agitate said impurities and permit them to pass between said bars or rise until they fall over the bars.

The front grate-bars 3 are provided with pinions 30, secured upon their lower ends, and with these pinions mesh a rack-bar 31, held in suitable guideways and adapted to be reciprocated by the eccentric 32, which is connected to said bar bythe strap 33 and rod 34, the latter being pivoted at 35 to said bar. The eccentric 32 is secured upon the vertical shaft 55, journaled in suitable bearings and having secured thereon a beveled gear 36, which meshes with the beveled gear 37, secured upon the horizontal shaft 3S, which latter is provided with a beveled gear 39, meshing with a like gear 40, carried by the crossshaft 0. Thus motion will be imparted from the last-named shaft to the grate-bars 3 during the travel of the bucket-chain in order that said bars may be oscillated continuously during the feeding of fuel to the fire-box.

The side bars 2 have secured upon their lower ends the pinions 41, which intermesh with each other, thereby causing said bars to move in unison, and motion is imparted to these bars by one of their number being provided with a crank 42, which latter is connected by the rod 43 to an eccentric 44 upon the short shaft 45, and this shaft carries a bev- IOO IIO

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eled gear TLG, which meshes with the gear l0, carried by the cross-shaft 9, as before described.

The parts just described in connection with the grate-bars 2 are in duplicate, as there are two sets of these bars and consequently two chains of gears and shafts for their operation, one arranged upon either side of the fire-box and bearing the same designatingnumber.

Both sets of gratebars 2 and 3 are of such form as to present wedge-shaped edges to the fuel mass, and when they are oscillated it will be obvious that the impurities passing within the V-shaped spaces between the bars will pass from the lire-chamber and fall outside of the fire, and in the case of the bars 2 will drop therefrom into the ash-spaces 47, and the impurities falling from the bars 3 will accumulate upon the platform or ledge 4S, from whence they will be removed by the blades l5), drawn across said platform by the endless chain 50, which latter is carried by the wheels 5l, these wheels being driven by a starwheel 52, the arms of which are adapted to engage teeth upon one of said wheels and in turn be operated by the engagement of its teeth with the cross-rods 8 of the bucketchain. rlhese grosser products from conibustion, when conveyed from the platform, are precipitated within the ash-spaces 47.

To provide against injury to the grate-bars 2, should they become clogged, the spindles upon which they oscillate are made in two sections. The lower portions, which are pro' vided with the pinions 4l, have their upper ends serrated, which serrations are adapted to engage with like serrations upon the other sections of the bars, and these serrations are held into engagement with cach other by the coil-springs 53, the latter being set in the housing 5l, so that should the bars become clogged and the power continue to operate the mot-ion therefrom would not be transmitted to said bars on account of the disengagement of the serrations by the lower sections of thc spindles beingcammed downward against the action of the springs 53, as will be readily understood.

Draft is admitted to the side grate-bars through the openings 55 and 56, which are closed by suitable doors for the regulation of the amount of draft thus admitted, and when so admitted the draft is conveyed by passages 57 to the front half of these bars and to the rear half thereof by the passages 58.

Access is had to the iirebox above the grate by a hand-hole 59, which is closed by a suitable cap, and the object of this hand-hole is to permit the initial starting of the fire and of the final cleaning of the fire-box after a lire has been extinguished.

The operation of my improvement as embodied in the foregoing description and figures referred to therein will be obviously as follows: A fire is rst started upon the buckets, which lic immediately beneath the firebox and serve as a bottom therefor, and permitted to gain such headway as not to he extinguished when motion is imparted to the buckets when fuel is conveyed to the buckets by the chute, as before described, and the latter put in motion from any suitable source of power. Now as the buckets travel rearward they will convey to the fire previously started fresh fuel, which will be elevated, as before described, forcing upward the incandescent mass previously occupying the lower stratum, and as this operation continues and combustion proceeds a level will be reached by the upper surface of the mass of fuel within the firebo\Y and there maintained. This level will be determined by the quantity of fuel fed to the fire-box in a given time relative to the rapidity of combustion, and when once established by the propel| regulation of the speed of the travel of the buckets and the draft will not materially change, and, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art of steanrgenerating, this is of the greatest importance, since thereby a given amount of heat is transmitted to the water, thus accomplishing the generation of therequired amount of steam and maintaining the proper pressure within the boiler without excessive fire.

Since the fuel is fed to the fire-box from beneath and forced upward to gradually take the place of the upper stratum, which is being consumed by the process of combustion, it is obvious that the gases contained in the fuel are gradually raised in temperature and are forced to percolate upward through the incandescent layer of fuel, by means of which they will be separated into their constituent elements, thus greatly aiding combustion and preventing the formation of smoke or watergas. The quantity of fuel which is fed to the firebox within a given time may be regulated by varying the speed of travel of the bucketchain, or it may also be regulated by cutting out the formation of one or more of the buckets at given intervals by placing upon the crossrod 7 of the bucket, the formation of which it is desired to prevent, two rolls, one upon either side of the bucket in the same longitudinal vertical plane as t-he rolls 17, and when these rolls come into line with the guidcways 18 they will engage therewith and be guided thereby, which will hold the two halves of the bucket in horizontal alinemcnt, as clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig. t3. Thus this bucketwill pass under the chute without receiving fuel therefrom, so that the amount of fuel conveyed to the lire-box will be lessened in proportion to the number of buckets thus eut out.

In adapting my improvement for use in connection with a locomotive-boiler, as shown in Figs. ll to 18, inclusive, the construction thereof is as follows:

GO represents the tube-sheet into which the tubes are expanded, and as is usual with this IOC IIO

portion of the boiler the iire-box 6l is connected thereto, the bottom of which is provided with a central arch 62 and semiarches 63, one upon either side of the tire-box. Between the central arch and the two side semiarches intervene spaces through which travel the bucket-chains 64, composed of buckets in the same manner as previously described, and these chains are carried by the pulleys G5 and 66, secured upon the shafts 67 and 68, respectively, said shafts being journaled within suitable bearings supported upon the side walls of the lire-box. Thus the bottom of the fire-box is formed by the buckets upon the upper sides of the chains, and these buckets are caused to feed fuel to the fire-box by being closed prior to entering said box and then gradually opened and elevated to deliver said fuel. This latter operation is accomplished by the traveling of the cross-rods 69 in the guideways 70, so as to hold the upper edges of the buckets in horizontal alinement and the traveling of the cross-rods 7l, which secure together the two halves of each bucket, within the guideways 72. These two guideways are arranged one above the other, and the outer end of the guideway 72 starts in a horizontal plane slightly below the guideway 70, so that as the rods 69 and 71 pass from the pulley 66 the rods 69 will engage with the guideways and the rods 7l with the guideway 7 2 on account of the notches 7 et, in which said rodslie, being deeper than the notches 75, with which the rods 69 engage, thus deliverin g the latter from the pulley 68 in a higher horizontal plane. After the buckets have been formed and pass within the tire-box they are gradually elevated by the traveling of the rods 7l up t-heincline 73 of the guideway 72u11- til their two halves are brought into horizontal alinement at the rear of the fire-box, where the fuel will be delivered and prevented from being carried from the fire-box by the scraper 76, which in this instance I prefer to pivot at 77 to the beveled rear wall 7S and hold in contact with the buckets by means of the spring 79, pressing upward upon the rear end of the scraper.

The arches at the rear of the furnace are covered with the longitudinal grate-bars SO, which are set ata distance apart sufficient to form a support for the initial fire, which may be started thereon in the usual manner before the feeding mechanism is put into operation, whereby the fuel will be fed to the furnace automatically, as above described; and arranged immediately beneath the grate-bars S0 are the grate-bars 8l, having located against their under surfaces the reciprocating gratebars 82, arranged to bear thereagainst, so that the passages for'draft therebetween may be either opened or closed, as will be hereinafter set forth, the object of which is to supply the initial fires started upon the grate-bars 8O with air, and whenthe automatic feeding of the fuel has been putin operation and sufficiently progressed to obviate the necessity of the continued action of the initial fires the grate-bars 82 are reciprocated, so as to close the passages through the grate-bars Si, after which combustion within the furnace is supported, as hereinafter set forth. The ashes and other refuse falling from the grate-bars 8O will pass through the bars 8l and 82 when the latter are opened, thereby gaining access to the ash-pits 83.

The front portions of the arches are tted with curved grate-bars Si, and have also the sliding grates S5, fitted in bearings 86, and these sliding grates are adapted to move to and fro by the threaded rods 87, provided with hand-wheels 8S for their manipulation. Beneath the sliding grates are arranged stationary grate-bars 89, so that when clinkers or other foreign substances fall upon these bars they may be crushed and agitated until passing through said grates to the ash-pits 83. 90 are a series of curved grate-bars arranged at the rear of the tire-box considerably above the arches, the object of which is to permit the fuel as it is fed to said boX to assume a higher level at this point than at any other point within the fire-box. A chute 91 is provided for each of the bucket-chains and has an opening 92 leading therefrom for delivering fuel to the buckets during their passage therebeneath, and the size of these openings is regulated by suitable plates 93, made adjustable upon the chute, and I also prefer to arrange rolls 94 within the chutes and' immediately above the openings 92, adapted to revolve in the opposite direction from the flow of the fuel, so as to prevent said fuel from passing too rapidly through the openings. The roll 9i is given an intermittent revolving movement by a wheel 94, which is journaled upon the same shaft therewith, said shaft having its bearings in the swinging arms 94h, whereby the roll and wheel are permitted to drop by gravity until said wheel comes in contact with the cut-away portion 94C of the guideway, and this permits the ends of the rods 69 to come in contact with said wheel in their travel, thereby revolving the latter through a given distance intermittently, and also giving it a slight vertical movement, which will prevent the clogging of the fuel. In this construction as the fuel is fed by the buckets to the fire-box it is carried rearward within said boX until being scraped from the buckets by the scraper 7 6, when it will be forced upward by the continued incoming supply, and thus be caused to fall over upon the arches and assume an angle to the horizontal varying in proportion as the feed is regulated relative to the' combustion.

In a boiler of the class just described it is usually essential that it be supplied with means for producing a forced draft or supply a greater quantity of oxygen than would be fed to the combustion-chamber when atmos-A pheric pressure alone is depended upon, and I therefore lprovide the induction-pipes 95,

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t entre@ which lead from the boiler or exhaust, as the case may be, and these pipes connect with the pipe 00, which latter is provided with a number of perforations upon its inner wall, from which steam conveyed thereto by the induction-pipes will be projected in fine spray within the mass of fuel in the tire-box. `Leading from the pipe 90 are a number of branch pipes 97, also provided with perforations, so as to supply steam to various portions of the :fuel in the rear portion ot' the fire-box, and, again, leading from these branch pipes are the longitudinal pipes 9S, which are also perforated and extend innnediately beneath the buckets upon the upper side of the chains, and while serving as separate pipes for projecting steam within the tire-box these pipes 0S also serve as tracks upon which the buckets are supported during their passage to the firebox. This arrangeuient et pipes admits of the introduction of steam to the mass of fuel during its combustion, from which a large amount of oxygen maybe drawn to assist. in the support ot combustion as well as the adding of hydrogen to the combination of gases, whereby the heat of said combustion will be intensified, as is well understood.

lffound desirable, a space 00 may be formed at the rear of the tire-box, having perforations 100 in its front wall and so connected with the ind uetion-pipes 05 as to receive steam therefrom and consequently transmit said steam in spray to that portion of said firebox.

1.01 are stoking-bars pivoted to the lower ends of the levers 102, which latter are secured upon the rods 103, so that when these rods are oscillated the stoking bars are caused to pass through the grate-bars S1, thus starting the fuel adjacent to these bars and assisting in the removal of the ashes and clinkers. The levers 102 are made of strips of sheet metal of sufficient length that two extend the entire length of the grate-bars Si and are so bent that when they are brought together they serve as a damper to prevent the passage of air through the grate-bars 85 and 80, thus forcing the air which is fed to the under side ot' the grate-bars S1 to pass through the last-named bars and gain access to the fire-box by percolating through the mass of fuel therein. It is also obvious that the levers 102 maybe swung into close proximity to the grate-bars S1, when the draft would be deflected from said bars and caused to pass upward through the bars 85 and 80.

Since the levers 102 are made in two sections, they may be operated independent of each other, and this operation is brought about by the rods 101, upon which the front sections of the levers are pivoted, being provided with squared heads 105, adapted to fit within the sockets 10G and 107, and as these rods may be slid longitudinally it will be seen that these heads may be engaged either with both of the sockets 106 and 107 at one and the same time to oscilla-ite the levers in unison, or

' they may be engaged with only one of said sockets, thereby operating` but one of the levers at a time. Each of the rods 103 is provided with a crank 108, by meausof which motion is imparted thereto for the purposes just described. The side curved bars St are also provided with stoking-bars 109, which are pivoted at 110 to the levers 112, the latter being carried by the rods 113 in the same manner as just described in connection with the levers 102 and for the same purpose. These side grate bars are also provided with stoking-bars 114, carried by the levers 115, which are secured to the rods 110. 3y this combination of stoking bars and levers lin the semiarches draft may be regulated and caused to either pass through the grate-bars 85 and 80 or through the grate-bars Si. Dampers 117 are pivoted at 11S within the lower portion ol the space 110, formed between the rear wall of the furnace and tire-box, so as to regulate the amount of air fed to the grate-bars 00, and these dampers are under the control of rods 120, which are pivoted at 121 to levers 122, depending from said dam pers, and swivcled to the rods 120 at 1.23 are the shaker-rods 1.24.-, extending outward through the front wall of; the furnace and provided with crank-handles 125, by which they maybe manipulated. rl'he rods 124I are also provided with the forked levers 120, which are adapted to engage with the lugs 127, depending from the under side of the reciprocating grate-bars S2, so that when one of the rods 12ML is moved outward to the open damper the fork 121i will come into engagement with the lug 127, and thereby permit the reciprocation of these grate-bars by the oscillation of the rod, and this oscillation will not affect the damper in that said rod is swiveled, as before described, to the rod 122. 'lhus both the manipulation of the dampers and the operation of' these grate-bars are accomplished through 011e rod and crank.

As described in connection with the first embodiment of my improvemerittitsometimes becomes necessary to cut out the action of one or lnore of the buckets in conveying fuel to the fire-box, and this I accomplish in the construction nowunderconsideration by providing loops 12S within the line of travel of the under side of the chain and extend one or more of the rods 7l to a distance sidewise sufficient to enter these loops, and when so entering it will be seen that the lower portion of that particular bucket will be elevated, so as to close the halves thereof, thus taking n p a certain amount ott' the chain upon the under side, which will compensate for the slack caused in the upper side of said chain when one of the buckets upon this latter side is eut out or prevented from forming by the branch guideway 120, into which the extended ends of the rods 71 enter, thereby elevating the lower portion of the bucket and causing it to pass under the chute in its open position, so as to receive no fuel. It is to be noted that for every bucket that is provided with ex- IOO IIO

tended rods 71, adapted to pass within the loops 128, a like number of buckets is also provided with extended rods 7l, adapted to pass into engagement with the branch guideway 129, and the relative position of these extended rods must be such that when one is entering the loops 128 one is also entering the branch guideway 129.

By the constant passage of the buckets beneath the chute it is obvious that a certain amount of the fuel, especially that of finer particles, will pass between the lower edge of the chute and the top of the buckets, and unless provision were made for this fuel it would fall to one side or interfere with the passage of the buckets within the fire-box, and I therefore arrange the strikers 180 and 131 upon the under side of the chute, so that their edges project within close proximity to the tops of the buckets, the striker 131 coming nearest to said buckets. Now it will be seen that as the particles of fuel pass between the tops of the buckets and the lower edge of the chute they will be caught first by the striker 130, and when too small to be arrested by this striker will finally be caught by the striker 131, and as the particles accumulate in front of these strikers it is necessary to remove the same, and this is accomplished by the passage of the open bucket, as just described, beneath the chute without receiving a supply of fuel, which, after it has passed said chute, is again formed by the downtake 132 in the branch guideway 129, so that the particles of fuel which have accumulated in front of the strikers fall within this bucket and are conveyed to the fire-box.

Under circumstances where it is advisable to saturate the green fuel with exhaust-steam the construction of buckets shown in Figs.

- 15 and 16 is preferable -to that heretofore described` and this construction consists of forming the halves 140 with curved upper edges and com pound-curved lower edges and meeting a solid bottom and substituting therefor the screen-bottoms 141, which latter are supported by the rods 142, in order to stiffen these bottoms that they may be better able to support the fuel to be carried thereby. Vhen buckets of this description are used, it is obvious that it gives the freest play for saturation by the exhaust-steam, while presenting a close mesh to prevent fine coal from sifting through.

I am aware thata number of modications and various designs may be made for furnaces-embodying the principles of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the exact constructions and detailsof arrangement here shown and described, as my invention rests in the broad idea of so constructing a furnace and arranging devices that the fuel may be fed from the under side to the fire-box, thereby constantly maintaining an intense heating-surface upon the upper side of the burning fuel, the heat of which does not fluctuate upon the feeding of fresh fuel thereto.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is- 1. In combination with the fire-box of a furnace, a series of buckets adapted to pass beneath said fire-box and be opened and elevated therein so as to deliver the fuel carried by said buckets to the under side of the bed of fuel within said box, substantially as shown and described.

, 2. A furnace, consisting of a fire-box having suitable grate-bars and an open bottom in combination with a series of buckets adapted to pass beneath said fire-box and forming the 4bottom thereof, means for feeding fuel to said box, and means for delivering said fuel from the buckets to the 'fire-box upon the under side of the bed of fuel therein, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a furnace, a fire-box composed of a number of grate-bars in combination with a series of buckets adapted to travel beneath said fire-box, said buckets being made in halves, whereby they may be formed to receive the fuel from a suitable source and opened after passing beneath the fire-box for the` delivering of the fuel conveyed thereby to said fire-box, means for feeding said buckets, and means for causing them to travel, substantially as shown and described.

4. In combination with a re-boX of the characterdescribed, a series of buckets linked together, each bucket being composed of two sections pivoted at their lower ends, pulleys over which said buckets travel, means for imparting motion to said pulleys, means for closing the buckets at a predetermined portion of their travel, and means for opening said buckets whereby the fuel conveyed thereb'y is delivered to the fire-box, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In combination with a furnace of the character described, a series of grate-bars arranged upon either side thereof and a series of grate-bars arranged upon the front thereof, each of said grate-bars being adapted to oscillate in combination with a traveling chain composed of a series of buckets each made in two sections, said buckets being adapted to close for the reception of fuel from a suitable chute, and after having passed within the fire-box to be elevated, thereby delivering said fuel to said fire-box, pulleys upon which said chain travels, cross-shafts upon which said pulleys are mounted, and means for imparting motion from said shafts to the grate-bars, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In combination with a furnace of the character described, the bottom of which is open, a series of buckets each composed of two sections pivoted together at their lower edges, rods, by means of which said buckets are pivoted together, said rods extending sidewise beyond the sides of the buckets,a series of rods by which the buckets are pivoted to each other, the last-named rods also extending be- IOO IIO

yond the sides of the buckets, guideways in which the last-named rods are adapted to travel so as to hold the upper edges of the buckets in horizontal alinement, guideways in which the first-named rods are adapted to travel whereby the two sections of each bucket may be closed to enable the bucket to hold fuel or be opened for delivering said fuel to the under side of the fire-box, pulleys upon which said buckets are mounted, and means for imparting motion to said pulleys, sub stantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. In combination with a furnace, a series of grate-bars 2 adapted to be oscillated continuously during the workings of the furnace, a series of grate-bars 3 also adapted to be oscillated, a series of buckets each composed of two sections, rods 7 by which the sections are hinged together, rods 8 by which each bucket is pivoted to the next adjacent bucket, pul leys upon which said buckets are mounted, guideways 1S, rolls 17 secured upon the outer ends of the rods 8 and adapted to engage with the guideways 18, guidewtys lf), rolls 2O secured upon the outer ends of the rods 7 and adapted to engage with the guideways 19, said guideways being so disposed relative to each other as to close the sections of the buckets prior to their entering the furnace and open the same so as to deliver the fuel therefrom to the fire-box, a scraper arranged at the rear of the fire-box, the lower edge of which is in juxtaposition to the bottoms of the buckets when elevated, a chute for conveying fuel to the buckets, and means for causing said buckets to travel, substantiallyas and for the pun poses set forth.

8. The hereiirdcseribed combination of the grate-bars 2 adapted to oscillate, pinions, by means of which said bars are geared together so as to move in unison, the grate-bars 3 arranged at the front of the lire-box, pinions secured te said grate-bars, a rack-bar adapted to mesh with said pinions whereby said gratebars are moved in unison, mea-ns for transmitting motion to said rack-bar, and a travelin g chain of buckets adapted to convey fuel from a suitable chute to the under side of the fire-box, whereby the fuel previously located in said box will be elevated to take the place of the consumed fuel, as specified.

9. In combination with a locomotive-boiler, a series of arches, grate-bars Si located upon said arches, stoking-bars for agitating the fuel so as to remove the clinkers therefrom, grates S5 and S9 also arranged upon said arches, threaded rods for operating the gratos 85, whereby the clinkers which fall upon said grates may be removed, levers for operating said stoki ng-bars,said levers being also adapted to serve as dampers for regulating the amount and course of the draft admitted to the arches, a series of grate-bars 8O and a series of grate-bars 8l arranged therebeneath at some distance therefrom, a series of gratebars S2 arranged beneath and in contact with the grate-bars 81, means for oscillating said gratebars S2, a series of grate-bars 90, danipers 117 for regulating the draft admitted to the grate-bars Q0, means for operating said dampers, a series of pipes having perforations therein for the admission of steam to the fire-box, induction-pipes leading to said pipes, a series of buckets, each composed of two sections hinged together so as to be closed to receive fuel and opened to deliver said fuel, said buckets being pivoted together to form an endless chain, pulleys over which said chain is adapted to pass, means for causing said pulleys to revolve, a chute arranged to deliver fuel to said buckets when passing therebeneath, a roll revolving in a reverse direction to the flow of the fuel for regulating' the amount thereof delivered to said buckets, means for revolving said'roll, guideways adapted to effect the closing of said buckets at the proper point in their travel and open the same after passing within the fire-box, whereby the coal conveyed by said buckets will be forced upward against the under side of the fuel previously delivered to the firebox, and a spring-actuated scraper, the inner end of which is adapted to bear against the buckets when opened to prevent the carrying of fuel from the lire-box, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

l0. A bucket for use in conjunction with a furnace of the character described, consisting of the two sections 140 hinged together at their lower edges by a suitable rod, said sections being provided with meshed or perforated bottoms, whereby exhaust or live steam may be admitted to the green fuel, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BENJAMIN I). Cl IILDREY.

Witnesses:

S. S. WILLIAMSON, MARK BUFORD.

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